Karnataka Viral Video Backlash! CM Siddaramaiah Takes Cognisance, Calls For Cultural Sensitisation

People are growing insensitive to languages outside their regions, and a recent incident highlights this trend. A Karnataka Viral Video capturing such an incident came under the CM's attention. At the SBI's Surya Nagara branch in Anekal Taluk, the branch manager refused to speak in Kannada or English with a customer. Instead, she asked the customer to speak Hindi.

This refusal not only embarrassed the customer but also showed a lack of respect for Karnataka's official language and the state. This sparked widespread concern over cultural and linguistic respect in public services. 

Swift Action and Policy Direction Taken by SBI

As the Karnataka Viral Video captured how the manager refused to speak Kannada or English with the customer, SBI took action against her. State Bank of India promptly announced a review of the matter and transferred the branch manager.

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah tweets, "The behaviour of the SBI Branch Manager in Surya Nagara, Anekal Taluk refusing to speak in Kannada & English and showing disregard to citizens, is strongly condemnable. We appreciate SBI’s swift action in transferring the official. The matter… pic.twitter.com/fOYPGkpobM

— ANI (@ANI) May 21, 2025

The authorities affirmed a zero-tolerance policy toward behaviour that hurts customer sentiments. CM Siddaramaiah welcomed this decision, as he appreciated SBI's prompt response. He also considered the issue closed, provided no such incident recurs in future. 

CM Advocates for Cultural Sensitisation Training

A serious step was to be taken by noting that such incidents are on the rise, as a similar case had occurred earlier. So, CM Siddaramaiah urged the Ministry of Finance & Department of Financial Services to make cultural and language sensitisation training mandatory. He said it was to be done for all bank staff across India. 

He stressed, "Respecting the local language is respecting the people," and called for training programs. This was to ensure every bank employee treats customers with dignity and makes every effort to speak in the local language. 

Incident Sparks Outrage Over Language Disrespect

In a post made by Asian News International on X, a reshare of Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah's tweet. The tweet read, "The behaviour of the SBI Branch Manager in Surya Nagara, Anekal Taluk, refusing to speak in Kannada & English and showing disregard to citizens, is strongly condemnable…" This shows that the CM strongly condemns the incident. 

I WILL NOT SPEAK KANNADA IN KARNATAKA, NEVER, SPEAK IN HINDI.
@TheOfficialSBI Branch manager SBI, surya nagara, anekal taluk KARNATAKA
Your Branch manager and staff disrespect the Kannada language, imposing hindi on people of karnataka, misbehaving with customers,on duty times… pic.twitter.com/drD7L6Dydb

— ಗುರುದೇವ್ ನಾರಾಯಣ್ 💛❤️ GURUDEV NARAYAN🌿 (@Gurudevnk16) May 20, 2025

The Karnataka Viral Video of the exchange was also noticed globally. In which the manager refused to speak Kannada or English, the customer reminded the manager, "This is Karnataka." While the manager replied, "This is India … I will speak Hindi." Neither party stopped for several minutes, causing public anger and calls for action from higher authorities. 

Karnataka CM criticised the Karnataka Viral Video incident. He calls a step towards a more inclusive Karnataka with the sensitisation training. Let's see if his call for Cultural Sensitisation Training is a good decision or a bad one. Comment down below and let us know what your take is on it.